I have no idea who reads this blog, but allow me to introduce myself. My name is Dexter. I like music. I like the internet. I am an all around good guy.

Look at my list of my fave thirteen tunes of 2009. This way I can keep up with the other thousands of bloggers and their ‘Top X songs/bands/pics/SteveGalafanikisFilms/concerts lists’ and as well for you to examine whether my musical selection remotely coincides with yours. Perhaps I am average…perhaps I am different. Read it, download it and either listen to it or send it to the ‘Recycle Bin/Trash’.

In no order, here it is:

1. Fever Ray – If I Had a Heart

Certainly not danceable or upbeat, but there is enough of that out there already. I think of a dark, brick-walled, cobweb ridden basement belonging to ‘Edward Scissorhands’ when listening to this tune. As a side-project from the band ‘the Knife’ (who I know next to nothing about), Fever Ray does a magnificent job of protruding all that is dark and unpleasant.

2. Lil’ Wayne feat. Gucci Mane – We Be Steady Mobbin

Oh my god, this reminds me of the first time I fell in love with Weezy. This song deconstructs the conventional hip hop song and rearranges it to allow Weezy to punch out his short verses with such magnificience. ‘Suck my clip/ Swallow my bullets/ And don’t you spit.’ Classic.

3. Fan Death – Reunited

Everything is good about this song. Even Perez Hilton agrees…Jokes. Seriously though, this is my fave band from Vancouver. They capture such a different sound using warped disco strings and the lead singer Dandi’s gloomy yet refreshing voice. I heart Fan Death.

4. 6th Borough Project – Do it to the Max

No idea who these peeps are but I have listened to this song dozens of time in the last few months. So reminiscent of early house music with the contrast super hi-pitched vocals and the deep male vocals. Juicy, funky, delicious, danceable yet with a bpm hovering around 100.

5. In Flagranti – Brash & Vulgar

Again nodding their caps to original house music by maintaining a reasonable bpm, minimal sounds and generally sampling music from the 70s/80s. On this track they take such a well known sample and twist it into something so fresh. I love them. Why isn’t every DJ Playing In Flagranti?!?!?

6. Miike Snow – Burial

I may be bias on this one considering I was on stage with Miike Snow in Stockholm this year (Not playing anything, just being a groupie and all). That being said, this group – comprising of musical geniuses (Sorry not you Mr. West) that have produced for divas such as Madonna and Kylie Minogue – is bound to come up with something more than decent. This song itself was made for live performances; layered with an array of marching band percussion sounds, average piano keys, chanty vocals and tied together with a soft electro sound.

7. Harlem Shakes – Niagara Falls

Such an undervalued band. This song is so light and dance-y and upbeat and pop-py. Maybe if we could all get over our fronts and just appreciate the softness of the styles of indie pop the world would be a better place? Probably not, but it is still a good song.

8. Major Lazer – Pon De Floor

I wish I had a video of me losing my head dancing to this song at the Major Lazer show this year. As hyped up as the Major Lazer side project was and as luck-lustre as the actual performance was, Diplo and Switch outdid themselves producing this song.

9. La Roux – In For The Kill (Skream’s Let’s Get Ravey Remix)

Close your eyes. Imagine being on a beach at 6:30 in the morning with a few hundred other people pondering if it is time to head back to our tents after a complete night of dancing. And then Benga plays this track. The pondering ended and the dancing continued.

10. Edward Sharpe & The Magnetic Zeroes – Home

I made a bet that this song would enter the same popularity plane as ‘Young Folks’…I may owe that person money. But that takes nothing away from the brilliance of this song. Cute, respectable, super-duper catchy, contemporarily folk-y. Warms my insides too much.

My three fave albums were courtesy of Phoenix, The XX and YACHT…but I am sure you can find their music @ every other blog.

Happy New Year!! It’s that time of the year again, I can’t believe 2009 is coming to an end. Not only that, but this decade is coming to an end. I was reading through a newspaper about what people would remember about the 00’s, we really need to find a better name for this decade, and it was actually slightly depressing; Bush as president, 9/11 and global terrorist attacks, SARS outbreak, wars, the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami, Hurricane Katrina, avian flu, subprime mortgage crisis and recession, H1N1, and of course most importantly in the eyes of the public and what the newspapers concentrated on, young stars dying unexpectedly. The decade of fear I guess, but better than the 1940’s. Or maybe we’ll look at this decade as the decade of high speed internet and internet memes, Facebook, netbooks, Xbox 360, Playstation 3, and iPhones, when Apple began their world domination, American Apparel brought tight jeans, flashy colors, and metallic back into style finally ridding us of those ugly bell-bottom baggy jeans, denim vests and tie-die t-shirts, Summer Olympics making it communist China, and Barack Obama as president. For me, the decade of good television and movies. But 2010 should be a pretty epic year, Winter Olympics in Vancouver, FIFA World Cup in South Africa, uh…

Anyways, this year’s top 10 is like last year’s top 10 list. The top 10 tracks that I posted on this blog or any honorable mentions. Completely vague title and criteria because well, then you can’t get mad at me for posting the wrong thing. It’s all right! Contrary to that, I tried to include all the artists who really got it right in the bloggosphere this year, so it wasn’t track status alone. Sadly, unlike last year, there’s no Justice, Soulwax, or MSTRKRFT in sight. And huge apologies for these tracks being reposted on Hype Machine. It seems I made that mistake last year and I’ll make it again this year. Opps! It’s also been a very slow year musically and really busy year everywhere else for me, so if any of you think I’ve missed a top track, please by all means comment an honorable mention. I’ll be forever in your debt.

10. Phoenix – Lisztomania (Alex Metric Remix)

Can’t have a top 10 list for 2009 without mentioning Phoenix. And how perfect, there’s a great Alex Metric remix of their track Lisztomania. Surprisingly coming from Alex Metric, it’s not as club as his tracks usually are. All the better why I’ll be starting off the list with this track.

9. Ellie Goulding – Under The Sheets (The Knocks Remix)

I really like this remix by The Knocks. Ellie Goulding has an amazing voice and produces some great synth pop tracks. Combined with some electro from The Knocks, it’s definitely the trifecta of greatness. There’s a point 1 minute in the song that really blows me away.

8. The Virgins – Rich Girls (Le Castle Vania Remix)

I know, The Twelves totally remixed this track by The Virgins first. Le Castle Vania completely 1upped them. Like the electro rock version of the track, I couldn’t make a top 10 list without bringing Le Castle Vania into the mix. They’ve been producing great remixes since way before I even started blogging.

7. A-Ha – Take On Me (The Twelves Remix)

Did I ever mention I was a big but secret A-Ha fan? Okay, maybe I’m a Take On Me fan. I don’t really know any other A-Ha songs. But this track made my month. I kept asking myself why no one made an A-Ha remix, it would be the best thing in the world and The Twelves answered my prayers! Who better to do it too!

6. Matt and Kim – Daylight (Troublemaker Remix)

Another surprising track, I’m pretty sure I mentioned it when I posted this track, but a remix of Matt and Kim? Completely unexpected. Not to mention Troublemaker pulled it off flawlessly.

5. Passion Pit – The Reeling (Calvin Harris Remix)

This Calvin Harris remix is, in my opinion, the best one of Passion Pit‘s The Reeling. There’s some good ones out there, and I probably posted at least ten, but I love this one. Not to mention the fact that Calvin Harris really reached back to his musical roots on this one. I don’t know, his newer remixes seem to be missing whatever this remix has.

4. La Roux – In For The Kill (Lifelike Remix)

When I first heard this track I was blown away, it probably had to do with the fact that I was obsessed with La Roux for that short period of time. But I still love the track now. Lifelike knows just how to make the right sounds in electro. It’s old school, but that’s where it’s at.

This has to be my favorite mash-up this year, who would’ve thought to combine T.I. and Passion Pit. Of course The White Panda, a mash-up and remix duo I’ve never even heard of. Tom Evans (aka Procrast) and Dan Griffith (aka DJ Griffi) based out of Chicago and Los Angeles definitely got my attention. I mean, mixing indie and hip hop has been done in the past, but this was just so well done. Not to mention the fact I have so much fun listening to this track, definitely puts a smile on my face.

One of my favorite remix discoveries this year, although Le Matos has been a little stagnant in producing new remixes, I’m expecting some great stuff next year. He does have some tracks though that you should check out. Epic intro to the track, it’s almost like Coeur De Pirate‘s voice is perfect for electro. She’ll probably read this and hate me for saying that cause it’s almost an insult to her genre of music, but I totally meant it as a compliment.

1. Little Boots – New In Town (Fred Falke Remix)

After #5, it was really difficult choosing which track went where. Really, I could have combined all the tracks and put them at #1, but no one would be happy about that. So I’ll end off this top 10 list with one of my favorite remixers Fred Falke remixing one of my favorite artists Little Boots. It’s one of those ‘chill out, electro remixes don’t have to be amazingly fast and heavy in the bass’ tracks which I always love. Fred Falke along with Moulinex and Lifelike make remixes that I love, they doesn’t even have to try.

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